PODCAST

Daily Bitachon

Rabbi David Sutton

Daily Bitachon - delivered directly to your computer and/or mobile device

religion & spirituality judaism

All Episodes

30th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/22

An Immigrant in This World Welcome to our special Elul series of Cheshbon HaNefesh (Soul-Searching). We've now completed our 30th reflection, which prompts us to view ourselves as immigrants in this world. This is a celebration of our journey through these 30 spiritual units. Imagine a transient immigrant arriving in a foreign land. He knows no one, and no one knows him. But a compassionate, powerful person takes him in, provides his daily food, and gives him a set of instructions to follow, with

en-us

29th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/21

The Value of the Soul Over the Body Welcome to the Chovot HaLevavot series. We are on Cheshbon 29 , a deep introspection that prompts us to consider the value of our soul over our body. This idea helps us understand why some people hold more weight than others, not in a physical sense, but in their spiritual and moral worth. The Gemara says that a certain person is as valuable as a thousand people. For instance, Moshe Rabbeinu was considered to be worth 600,000 people. This wasn't because he was

en-us

28th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/19

What Happens When Trust Is Tested? This text is a discussion of the 28th cheshbon (reckoning) from Sha'ar Cheshbon HaNefesh (Gate of Introspection), focusing on a high level of bitachon (trust in God) and what happens when that trust is tested. The highest level of bitachon isn't just relying on God to get what you want. It's about complete self-surrender—giving your life, your money, and your children to God, trusting that He knows what's best. The true test of this trust comes when things don't go

en-us

27th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/18

Two Ways to Tolerate Suffering The Chovot HaLevavot emphasizes that there are two ways to endure suffering ( sevel ). The first is to accept the "load" God has given you willingly and with a good heart. This is the positive approach. The second is to carry it against your will, with complaints and anger. The Chovot HaLevavot contrasts these two approaches using two verses from the book of Yeshiah: The positive way: "I am waiting for God, who is hiding His face... and I hope for Him." This verse

en-us

26th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/17

The Fear of Punishment and the Fear of God Welcome to the "Heshbon HaNefesh" (Soul Accounting) series. The 26th reflection asks: What happens when a person in authority gives you a command and you're afraid of being punished if you don't listen? The parallel for us today isn't a king, but a police officer, a mayor, or a governor. Think about driving on the highway and seeing a police car with its lights on in your rearview mirror. Your heart drops in fear of getting a ticket, and then you realize

en-us

25th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/16

Welcome to Our Elul Project: The Journey of the Soul Welcome to "Sha'ar Cheshbon HaNefesh," our 30-day Elul project. Today, we're on "cheshbon" number 25. This reflection is for those moments when we realize we're too fixated on this world, giving it more attention than the next one. This is a common human tendency, and as the text says, we have to actively work on strengthening our love for the world to come. How do we do this? By comparing the two. This world is short-lived, while the next is

en-us

24th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/15

Heshbon 24: Re-enlightening Our Learning Welcome to the 24th lesson in our Heshbon HaNefesh (Accounting of the Soul) series. Today's lesson is a continuation of our previous one, but instead of focusing on the physical world, we turn our curious minds inward to the realm of Torah knowledge. This lesson is about re-examining the spiritual concepts we have known since childhood—the stories of the Torah , the words of our Sages, and the liturgy of our prayers. When we are young, we learn these things

en-us

23rd Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/14

Heshbon 23: The Curious Mind Welcome to the 23rd lesson in our special Elul series. Today's heshbon , or accounting, focuses on how we view the world, cultivating what we'll call a "curious mind" or a "learner's approach." This concept is rooted in Shaar HaBechinah , the "Gate of Probing." Bechinah means to examine, to test, to constantly feel and probe everything around you. It's about looking for and trying to understand the smallest creations as well as the largest—from inanimate objects to human

en-us

22nd Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/13

Uniting for a Shared Burden: An Elul Reflection on Human Interaction Welcome to our special Elul series, a journey through the principles of Shaar HaCheshbon HaNefesh (Gate of the Accounting of the Soul). In this 22nd lesson, we focus on how to approach our interactions with others, whether it's in business, community, or daily life. The core principle to embody is "Love your friend like yourself" ( V'ahavta L're'acha Kamocha ). This means you should desire for others what you desire for yourself,

en-us

21st Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/12

Elul Introspection: Breaking Through Spiritual Plateaus Welcome to our special Elul series on C hovot HaLevavot**. In this 21st introspection, we'll explore how to overcome spiritual dead ends—those moments when you feel you can't grow or develop beyond your current level. The path to spiritual growth isn't always a smooth upward climb. Sometimes we hit a plateau, a point where our current efforts seem to yield no further progress. The key is to not give up. Here's a powerful framework for breaking

en-us

19th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/12

Cheshbon HaNefesh: The Power of Gratitude Welcome to the 19th installment of our Cheshbon HaNefesh series for Elul. Today, we're focusing on reciprocating kindness by reflecting on all the ways Hashem has saved us from misfortune, afflictions, and diseases. This is an important cheshbon —an accounting—because we often take our health and well-being for granted, only recognizing blessings when something goes wrong. When you see people suffering from illness, hunger, or other misfortunes, you might

en-us

18th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/11

חשבון נפש : The Arrogant Soul This 18 th cheshbon focuses on what to do when you feel a sudden onset of arrogance, or as the text calls it, gibhut v'hitgadlut hanefesh (arrogance and a grandiose sense of self). This is that feeling when you start craving more and more worldly things—luxury items, excessive comforts, things you feel entitled to. It's a normal human feeling, but it's a critical moment for self-reflection. The remedy for this feeling is to re-evaluate your place in the world. Consider

en-us

20th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/11

Chovot HaLevavot: Introspection on Money Welcome to our introspection series on Chovot HaLevavot (Duties of the Heart). We're now on the 20th introspection, which focuses on your relationship with money. Your bank account is the trigger for this powerful exercise. Look at your balance and ask yourself three key questions: How did you earn this money? How do you plan to spend it? Do you use it to fulfill your obligations to God and to other people? Re-evaluating Ownership The core of this

en-us

17th Hshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/09

The Value of Solitude: Insights from Sha'ar Cheshbon HaNefesh Welcome to a special series from Sha'ar Cheshbon HaNefesh , where we explore 30 introspections over 30 days. Our focus today, on day 17, is inspired by a common social scenario: you're enjoying a get-together with friends and feel the need to pause and reflect. In our current social landscape, there's often a conflict between the excitement of being with people and the benefits of being alone. While certain situations require us to be

en-us

16th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/08

The Urgency of Acknowledging Mortality The 16 th Heshbon begins by stressing the need to recognize our own mortality, a realization that can strike when we witness the passing of others. The speaker emphasizes that death comes without warning, regardless of age, and uses the example of a recent terrorist attack to highlight its sudden, unpredictable nature. One of the great baalei mussar of the Novardok tradition once asked: How can a person attend a funeral and then return to their life as if

en-us

15th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/07

This text is part of a series on the 30 contemplations, or cheshbonot , from the ethical work Chovot HaLevavot (Duties of the Heart). This specific contemplation, the 15th, uses a real-life situation to spark a spiritual self-reckoning. The Contemplation: Preparing for the Final Journey The contemplation begins with a familiar scenario: someone stocking their pantry or packing for a trip. We meticulously prepare for temporary physical journeys, ensuring we have enough food, a rental car, and a place

en-us

14th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/05

Reflecting on God's Love Welcome to our special Chovot HaLevavot (Duties of the Heart) series for the month of Elul. Today, we'll discuss the fourteenth reflection, one of my favorites, and it's inspired by a real-life situation. How do you feel when someone shows you love? Maybe it's a child, a grandchild, a spouse, or a sibling who looks at you with affection, and you feel it instantly. Your natural reaction is to love them back. As King Solomon says in Mishlei (Proverbs) 27:19, " As water

en-us

13th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/04

Welcome to our special series on Chovot HaLevavot (Duties of the Heart). This is our 13th cheshbon , or day of introspection, in a 30-day journey. The purpose of today's practice is to ask ourselves, "How much of the debt we owe for the countless gifts God has given us have we repaid?" These gifts include the talents and abilities we've been granted. Chovot HaLevavot uses a powerful metaphor to illustrate this point. The Parable of the Servant A master gives his servant a field to plant and all the

en-us

12th Heshbon

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/03

Welcome to our special Elul series on Chovot HaLevavot, Sha'ar Cheshbon HaNefesh (Duties of the Heart, The Gate of Reckoning of the Soul). We're doing one of the 30 calculations for each day of the month. Today, we're on the 12 th Heshbon , which asks a profound question: How should a person feel when they realize they're becoming overly infatuated with worldly matters—focused on production and accomplishment—yet are lacking in their service of God, their ultimate destiny? It's a moment of

en-us

An Accounting

Daily Bitachon ·

2025/09/02

Welcome to our special Elul edition of Chovot HaLevavot , Sha'ar Cheshbon HaNefesh —day 11 of our 30-day journey. Today's cheshbon is an accounting of how we've used our lives until now. How have you used your time? Whom are you serving—Hashem or the yetzer hara ? Rabbenu gives a mashal . A king entrusts a servant with funds for a specific purpose: "Use this money to buy candy bags for the children in shul. Don't use it for garbage bags, don't use it for tissues—only for the kids' candy." At year's

en-us

374 results

Daily Bitachon

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Jeff Haygood, Pastor

PodPoint

PASTOR ALVARO VALENCIA

Pastor Alvaro Valencia

Grace Life Church CT.

PodPoint

Pleasant View Church

Ted Nance

Christian Heritage Church"s Podcast

PodPoint